Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Old-Timey Tuednesday: SERIOUSLY old-timey!

This edition of Old-Timey Tuesday/Wednesday takes us way, way, way back into the early years of the last century. The picture below is of my great-grandparents on my dad's side, his mom's folks, in their wedding finery:

Zola and Henry Wilkening

The photo isn't dated, but Dad estimates, based on when Grandma Dot and her older brother were born, that Zola and Henry were married sometime around 1913. Nearly 100 years ago now!

I'm intrigued by her wedding dress -- the layers, the wide sash, the way it appears to wrap like a robe almost. He looks quite dapper in his suit and side-button shoes. They're not smiling, but they're not stonefaced or stoic either; there's a contentment and a frankness in their eyes, at least as I perceive it. I can see Grandma Dot in their faces, and my dad, and myself -- I've got the same deep-set Wilkening eyes.

The setting of the portrait is pretty interesting as well. One person leaning on a chair is pretty standard in portraiture, but the painted forest backdrop? The bearskin rug at their feet? Too awesome. And yet, it looks totally normal.